The Pulitzer Center, a nonprofit organization that funds independent reporting and public education of underreported global issues, has announced an open call for applications for the fifth cohort of its AI Accountability Fellowships, inviting journalists from around the world to apply for the 2026–2027 programme aimed at supporting in-depth reporting on the impacts of artificial intelligence and automated systems.
Over the past four years, the AI Accountability Fellowships have supported 35 journalists from five continents. Fellows have investigated issues such as data labellers unknowingly working for the U.S. military, the expansion of data centres by major technology companies, bias in Europe’s welfare algorithms, and the export of facial recognition technology to countries with weak regulatory frameworks. Their reporting has contributed to new legislation in Brazil, provided evidence for legal cases, and inspired student investigations and public discussions on AI accountability in Indonesia and beyond.
According to the Center, AI reporting has evolved significantly since the Fellowship’s launch in 2022, moving from a niche area of coverage to a major reporting beat as AI technologies become increasingly integrated into governments, businesses, workplaces, homes, and public services. The organization said there is a growing need for independent journalism that examines the real-world effects of these technologies on individuals and communities.
The AI Accountability Fellowship operates under the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network, established in 2022 to expand and diversify journalism focused on artificial intelligence and its societal impacts.
A new component of this year’s Fellowship is dedicated funding, mentorship, and training for impact activities designed to ensure investigations reach strategic audiences. These activities may include collaborations with content creators, community publications, public discussions, and engagement initiatives involving civil society groups, industry representatives, and government officials.
The Al Accountability Fellowships seek to support journalists working on in-depth AI accountability stories that examine governments and corporations’ uses of predictive, generative, and surveillance technologies to guide decisions in policing, medicine, social welfare, criminal justice, hiring, and more. It seeks to support high-impact reporting projects that investigate the opportunities, harms, labour concerns, regulatory issues, funding structures, development processes, and deployment of AI systems by governments, corporations, and other powerful institutions.
The Fellowship seeks to support journalists and newsrooms that reflect the diversity of communities affected by artificial intelligence technologies and is open to reporters across.
The AI Accountability Fellowship is open to staff and freelance journalists working across all beats and desks from print, radio, video, multimedia, and other media platforms, who are interested in expanding and strengthening accountability-focused reporting on AI. Applicants should have an interest in understanding and reporting on the impact of artificial intelligence, be willing to collaborate across newsrooms and borders, and participate in outreach activities related to their investigations. Journalists from any country are eligible to apply, as the Fellowship is conducted remotely. While all Fellowship communications, meetings, and training sessions will be held in English, Fellows are free to publish their reporting in any language.
Applicants are required to submit a specific reporting project they intend to pursue during the Fellowship. The Pulitzer Center encourages investigative and accountability-focused proposals that combine approaches such as data analysis, public records requests, and field reporting to examine the real-world effects of algorithms and automated systems on policies, individuals, and communities. The programme welcomes projects covering a wide range of issues across the AI supply chain.
For the 2026–2027 cycle, the Pulitzer Center plans to select between eight and 10 journalists from around the world to report on how algorithmic and automated systems affect their communities. The Pulitzer Center recommends that applicants participate in an upcoming AI Spotlight Series training session or watch the training videos available on its website, which can also be accessed in Spanish and Portuguese. The organization particularly encourages journalists from the Global South and those from communities that are underrepresented in the media to apply for the Fellowship.
The Pulitzer Center will provide coordination, support, mentorship, and training throughout the programme, while Fellows and their news organisations will retain full editorial independence over their reporting. Journalists can apply individually or as part of a small team, although one person must be designated as the lead Fellow.
Fellows will have access to mentors from the Pulitzer Center’s network throughout the programme, as well as specialised training on various aspects of AI reporting delivered by university researchers, NGO experts, legal and public records specialists, and experienced journalists.
The 10-month AI Accountability Fellowship will begin in September 2026 and run until July 2027, and provide selected journalists with up to $25,000 in funding, including up to $20,000 for reporting activities and up to $5,000 for audience engagement efforts. The funding can be used to cover expenses such as records requests, travel, data analysis, and stipends. Applicants are required to submit a detailed budget outlining their anticipated reporting expenses. Freelance journalists can allocate up to one-third of the total budget as a stipend for their time, while news organisations are expected to continue covering the salaries of their staff reporters participating in the Fellowship.
Participation in training sessions, meetings, and collaborative activities is mandatory, as the programme is designed to foster learning, networking, and the exchange of ideas among journalists from different regions and backgrounds. Editors supporting an application must provide a letter confirming newsroom support, editorial supervision, publication commitment, and sufficient time for staff reporters to complete Fellowship requirements.
The Pulitzer Center encourages applicants to submit proposals that reflect their own ideas, editorial judgment, and reporting vision, noting that applications substantially generated by artificial intelligence tools often lack originality, specificity, and accuracy, which can weaken an application. Translation assistance, proofreading, and light writing support are considered acceptable, but the core substance of the proposal should be the applicant’s own work.
Fellows will also become part of a global community of journalists and experts that extends beyond the Fellowship and may help them build strong collaborations for current and future reporting projects.
The Pulitzer Center notes that working and learning alongside journalists from diverse backgrounds and regions can help uncover unexpected connections between stories and strengthen reporting projects through new perspectives. Journalists who have strong story ideas but cannot commit to the Fellowship requirements are encouraged to apply instead for an AI Reporting Grant.
The programme also requires Fellows to share their reporting methodologies and lessons learned so that their investigations can serve as practical models for other journalists and newsrooms undertaking similar projects.
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Applicants will be required to submit a statement of purpose, a detailed reporting proposal, an engagement plan, a project budget, three samples of published work, a letter of commitment or interest from a media organisation, three professional references, and a resume or curriculum vitae.
The Pulitzer Center emphasized that prior experience covering artificial intelligence is not mandatory. Instead, the selection process will prioritise journalists with strong records of producing in-depth, nuanced, and impactful reporting relevant to the communities they cover.
Applications for the 2026–2027 AI Accountability Fellowships are open until July 12, 2026, and interested journalists can learn more through the Pulitzer Center’s fellowship announcement and application portal.
Interested applicants can submit their applications by clicking here to apply
Visit Applications for the 2026-2027 AI Accountability Fellowships to read more about the fellowship
If you have any questions, contact reacheditorial@pulitzercenter.org.
